Dirk Coster

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Dirk Coster
Coster in 1930.
Born	(1889-10-05)October 5, 1889 Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died	February 12, 1950(1950-02-12) (aged 60) Groningen, Netherlands
Alma mater	Leiden University
Known for	Discovery of hafnium Coster–Kronig transition
Children	4
Scientific career
Fields	Physics X-ray spectroscopy
Institutions	University of Groningen
Thesis	Röntgenspectra en de atoomtheorie van Bohr  (1922)
Doctoral advisor	Paul Ehrenfest
Notable students	Aldert van der Ziel Hessel de Vries

Dirk Coster (5 October 1889 – 12 February 1950) was a Dutch physicist. He was a professor of physics and meteorology at the University of Groningen.

Coster is known as the co-discoverer of hafnium (element 72) in 1923, along with George de Hevesy, by means of X-ray spectroscopic analysis of zirconium ore. Its name is derived from Hafnia, the Latin name for Copenhagen, as the discovery took place in that city.

He helped Lise Meitner escape from Nazi Germany.